Santa's Arrival

Packing The Suitcase

Here is a video of Alexis hiding in the suitcase.  She thought she was hilarious and frankly so did I.

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!

Look Mom I Wrote My Name

Let's Go Fly A Kite

We went to Dane's co-worker, Fred's house for fishing and a BBQ.  This was our attempt to fly a kite with hardly any wind.  There was a fair amount of wind when we went outside then once we got the kite out and all put together it seemed the wind disappeared.  Oh well.  It's a cool kite for another windy day.

Isabelle was chillin' in the backpack carrier as usual.  
Alexis' favorite pastime, fishing with Daddy.

I'm Done With The Midterm...On to the next thing

First, let me say that I got an 83% and am very disappointed.  However, I wasn't surprised that I far surpassed the class average which was 65% on the test.  Second, thank goodness I paced myself during this timed 2 hour test because I had 25 seconds left on the clock when I finished in the nick of time.  

The midterm was a beast!  It was by far the worst I've ever seen as far as the exam questions are concerned.  I felt like I was being tested on how well I could look up the answers in my textbook (yes, this was an open book test) versus the actual material and content of which I've learned.  Some of the questions would pull direct quotes from the text.  Here is an example of how stupid the questions were: In the text, what part of the brain is considered the "entertainment center"?  This is ridiculous!  How about testing me on the various parts of the brain and their functions.  There is a nifty idea.  I am being tested on 250 pages of info, how in the world would I remember direct quotes?  There were even some questions where I found the answer in the book and the multiple choice answers were not even close to what the book stated.  I do not think we are being tested fairly, appropriately nor reasonably.  I think the class average says enough about the instructor.  The class average for the exam is in the 65 percentile and the class average for the class grade is around 78%.  Now, I have work double time to boost my grade back in the 90th percentile where it belongs.  

This is my first experience with an online college course and I am not impressed.  Between all of the technical difficulties to correct answers being marked in error as incorrect to these "bunk" exam questions.  It is almost worth the hassle of going to a lectured - physical class.  Next week, I am suppose to register for my next class.  I am debating which class and whether I should bother with the online version or not.  I think I may give the online thing one more chance since it would be overseen by another Instructor.

Not So Worried Anymore

I just finished taking my practice midterm exam.  I scored a 93% on the 100 question practice exam.  I finished in 1.5 hours and we are allowed 2 hours to finished the exam.  So I am not so worried anymore about taking the midterm tomorrow.  I am hopeful that I will do just as well if not a little better tomorrow.  I put tabs in my textbook (the exam is open book) and organized my notes.  I am ready to go!  I just want to get it over with.  

Maybe Our Christmas Family Photo??

Hmmm...this just might be our Christmas photo this year?!?!  Everyone is smiling and the girls are acting goofy which is normal.  Plus we are all sporting our Georgia Bulldog shirts.  I had to post this picture because it's my favorite.  We took it at Laura's last weekend during the football game.

I'm a Blogger Slacker

I know, I know...I have been slacking off on my blog.  The honest truth is all of my free time has been spent studying and taking tests.  I have my midterm exam tomorrow.  It is 2 hours long and timed.  I am nervous because so much of my grade is based on the midterm and final exams (50% of my grade).  I have to admit, I have read so much in the past week that I don't even want to look at my book anymore.  I have lost all interest in reading for the time being. 

I needed to take a little break from studying and since Izzie is napping I figured I would upload some pics and update this blog for you all.  Speaking of Izzie.  She has been drooling profusely the last two days.  When I went to put baby Orajel on her teeth last night, I noticed her 1 year molars are coming in.  I guess that explains why she has been fussier than normal.

Alexis has been really patient with me during this last week.  I found a way to balance my studying with my children.  I will sit on Alexis bed and watch the girls play together with one eye while my other eye reads my textbook.  It works well.  Sometimes I will even read out loud. It is boring subject matter to a 4 year old and 1 year old as they could care less what the hypothalamus in the brain does.  On the other hand, there are times I choose not to read out loud such as the last chapter I read which was on sexual orientation, arousal and sexual dysfunction.  Subject matter I do not wish to explain to my children at this time.  For those of you scratching your head wondering what in the world I am studying, I am taking an Intro Psychology class.  It is not very exciting since it's just an Intro class.  It would be fun to take a specialized Psych class in the future such as Abnormal Psychology.

Election Day...A Day of Voting

We went to the nearby elementary school this morning so I could vote for the Presidential Election.  I was lucky as there was no line and I was in and out of there within 10 minutes.  The girls were well behaved while I voted and sat patiently in the double stroller so I took them to the park afterwards. 

Alexis is a social butterfly and easily met two new friends to play with at the playground.  It was a beautiful day and pretty mild may in the upper 60s.  We have been really lucky with our weather here.  Most days are mild and get into the 70s.

My little monkey on the monkey bars.


We made a little fort out of pine needles for Lexie's My Little Pony.  You can't see the pony but there are 2 ponies inside of the fort.
After the kids were in bed, and in between studying I was watching the election online to see the progress.  I have to say that I thought the race would've been closer between John McCain and Barack Obama.  It was interesting to watch, I thought Obama's speech was good.  I hope he does well over the next 4 years.  Either way, I will support whomever our President is.

Watching the Dawgs Loose to FL

We went to Laura's to watch the UGA Bulldogs vs FL Gators football game.  Laura's clubhouse has a movie theater so it was great watching the football game on the large screen.  However, the actual game was just embarrassing!  By the end of the 3rd quarter we wanted to stop watching but were still hopeful for a comeback.  Needless to say, FL got us back for beating them last year.  I can't even mention the score...it was that bad!

Brady (Erika's son) throughly enjoyed his cupcake!

Alexis had a brief cry.  I think it was because she saw the Bulldogs loosing score!  I felt like crying too.
Daddy and his girls.
Alexis unknowingly called the game...yes we (the Bulldogs) were the losers!
My friends: Erika, Laura and Amy

Trick or Treating

We went trick or treating with our friends, Donavan, Rachel, and Isaac in a nearby neighborhood.  We thought we were taking a shortcut to cut through the neighborhood but it ended up not being much of a short cut.  I guess we didn't know the layout of the neighborhood as we had thought.  The kids had so much fun and Alexis got so much candy.

We went up to Dane's work and they were all dressed up as Grease Movie themed.  Here is my friend Jessica dressed up as a Pink Lady.

Dane and his co-workers dressed up as the Thunderbirds. Nice faux hair Dane!!

The Results of a Successful Playdate

After a successful and fun playdate at Borders and then lunch at Chik-Fil-A with some friends, I look in my rear view mirror and they both almost immediately fell fast asleep.  They were so exhausted.

Halloween Playdate at Borders

I got the girls dressed up in their Halloween costumes and we met a couple mom's from our play group at Border's for story time.  Isabelle was a little ladybug and Lexie was the Cat in the Hat.  Isabelle was walking all over the bookstore.  I needed a leash (half kidding).  Alexis was enjoying reading all kinds of books such as the Hungry Caterpillar which is one of her favorites.  They also had fun playing with a huge assortment of animal puppets.

Isabelle chased Joshua (Yoda) most of the time and tried to kiss him on several occasions.  I don't know what I am going to do with her.

They are so cute!!

Halloween Cookie Playdate

We went to Rachel's (Isaac's mom) house to make halloween cookies and play with the other kids from our play group.  The kids made a huge mess with the toys.  Sorry Rachel!  I guess that was evidence that they all had so much fun!!  I love getting together with fellow mom friends and having the kids play.  I look forward to it!

Jade and Alexis were holding their ears because the fire alarms went off.

Alexis, Isaac, Ella and Jade decorating spooky halloween cookies.

Lexie Cut Her Own Hair!

Okay...I know this picture is gross! But I had to share what happened. This morning I woke up to Alexis in an extra cheery mood. We started our morning with our usual routine, we ate breakfast and got dressed. I was brushing Alexis' hair and noticed on the side of her head, she had little pieces of hair. It was very random and luckily easy to hide. I couldn't figure out what happened.


Later that morning, I went into her bathroom and noticed hair in the sink. See photo below. Then it dawned on me there were some little baby scissors in the medicine cabinet. Lexie climbed up onto the bathroom sink vanity and got into the medicine cabinet. Needless to say that cabinet has been emptied. We then had a talk about how she is not allowed to cut her hair or anyone else's hair. She said she understood. Kids do the darnest things!

Adult Kickball Match

Last night we participated in an adult kickball match with some friends.  First, we started the game by playing guys vs girls.  The guys kicked our butts so the second half, we switched up the teams and split the guys and girls evenly.  We had so much fun!!  I ran so much and got quite a workout.  This morning I woke up so sore!!  I called Julee and she said she was really sore too.

Julee and her husband, Gordon.  It was their anniversary too.  They celebrated over cheesecake.

Teresa and Kristy
The whole kickball gang...all hot, sweaty and hungry...so we ate pizza at Ferrando's Pizza.

AJ's Birthday Party

Today, we went to AJ's birthday party held at Emily's (Beth's Mom).  I have never seen so many kids in one place at one time.  My pictures do not show exactly how many people were there.  We all had so much fun.  We really enjoyed spending time with Melissa B, AJ and Sebastian who were in GA for a short vacation.

This photo is so cute of baby Hank and baby Nora holding hands.  Awe!!

Alexis trying to steal AJ's b-day glory by attempting to blow out his candles.  Luckily, she was unsuccessful.
Alexis was in heaven in Beth's room.  She had all of her favorite toys, My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop.
Izzie loved playing with all the new and exciting big-kid toys.
Alexis and her "Buddy" AJ from our play group who recently moved to North Dakota.

Izzie's First Sippie Cup

Isabelle has been taking every chance she can get by stealing her big sister's sippie cups.  So I decided to give Izzie her own sippie cup today.  She really liked it and knew just what to do.  I think she felt like a big kid drinking out of a cup.  We still give her a bottle of milk too at least until she completely masters the cup.

By the way, isn't this a cute outfit?   She is so cute!!

Stuck in the Soccer Net

Lexie laying on the soccer net as if it were a hammock.  

Lexie and her friends, Jade and Isaac were playing in the net, occasionally getting stuck.  They had so much fun playing together.

Lexie's 1st Attempt at Soccer

Lexie's attempt at soccer.  She was totally focused and even through her entire body at the ball a couple times.  She made a couple scores and was very excited about it.

Playdate at the YMCA park

Here are some pics of us at the YMCA park playdate.  Our friends, Melissa B. (mom of AJ and Sebastian) came to visit us from Fargo, ND which was an extra special treat.

Melissa T jumped in the toy car with the kids.  She is so goofy, that's what I like about her.

Melissa T put this hilarious mullet-like wig on her daughter, Nora.  This is one to show the future boyfriends.
Melissa B, Erika and Brady
Izzie sporting her cute hat and coat.  She is my little trendy baby thanks to the great hand-me-downs from her big sister, Alexis.
Alexis in the toy car with all of her "Buddies".